To form part of

Question

Spanish has crept insidiously into my English, and now I can't remember how we say things in English. Tragedy of tragedies. I am trying to say that something is a part of something else, and the wording I want to use is '... forms part of ...' but I'm worried that that's not a very natural way of saying it in English (most people would just say 'is part of'), and that I have 'forms part of' on the brain because we say 'formar parte' in Spanish. So, what is the verdict, fellow English speakers? Does 'to form part of' sound contrived?

That happens to me all the time. I feel your pain! - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

I fear my English may never recover from Chile. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Pos claro que lo vai a recuperar guón, cachai? lol - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

I meant guona - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

Se escribe weona, weón. :) Las faltas de ortografía *forman parte* de los chilenismos. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

¿Cachai lo que te digo? ¡Nunca la pego con los Chilenos! - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 1

Hmmm I guess it would come down to context but I don't have a problem with 'forms part of', it seems quite natural to me.

EG:

Which river forms part of the border between Germany and Poland?

His documentary formed part of the international film festival in Cannes.

This paper forms part of the research programme.

Highway 10 forms part of the larger Highway 1.

Do you have more context?

It's part of a philosophy paper I'm writing, so the complete context is a bit jargon-y, but the idea is that a sort of term forms part of an [removed]sentence). - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

I'm not 100% on how it would go but I think it would work; eg: this term forms part of the common Chilean vocabulary - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Okay, my first comment is looking very weird. Part of it has been removed and replaced with the word 'removed.' - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

HA! That time it worked. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

that's weird, what's wrong with self expression? jeje - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

It happened again. SD appears to be blocking my use of the word expression. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Now all my comments are out of order. Perplexing. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

well at least that time I got to see it before it disappeared, so I know what you're talking about lol - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

my one still seems to be there, maybe it was your tone jajaja ;) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Maybe SD is mad at me for neglecting it for so long. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

jeje that'll be it :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

You don't want to get on the wrong side of a server. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

rofl :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 2

Here's a non-geographical reference from a US site, so I think you're good to go with 'forms part of' (smiley)

Wireless sensor system forms part of ... (first sentence in body of text)

Thanks. It's always good to learn something new. Especially a phrase that's built the same as formar parte de. - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

:) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 3

It may be a British (or non-US English) usage. Or at least, I have never been exposed to it. I looked it up on the web and the entries I found were all for British English (to constitute).

that might explain things, we do speak BE here in NZ - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Yes, the only use I found was about forming part of a human chain around Westminster. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 4

Ok I found 1 - an American example using 'it forms part of' jeje

Lake Erie, like all the Great Lakes, is fresh water. It forms part of the northern borders of Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

Actually now I look there are lots of US based examples but they do all seem to be geographical quotes, not sure if that makes a difference. - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

no, I think was just based on my search, forms part of usa, Wiki has heaps of examples of 'forms part of' eg. forms part of customary international law etc etc - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

Thanks for your help. At least it exists somewhere. I'll ask the person who will be grading the paper if he knows what I mean, and have alternatives ready, if not. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

no probs :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 2, 2012

I have given up trying to disguise my sudden lack of English competence. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 5

My second wife forms part of my ménage á trois , sounds OK to me .

She was part of a former ménage á trois.

But this is Aussie English , a little less formal mayhap .

I'm still accumulating evidence on this matter. Thanks. - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Answer 6

Formar parte de ... to be a part of or take part in

So you think it sounds weird to say 'to form part of'? - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012

Yes, it does. Check out http://www.thefreedictionary.com/take+part - francobollo, Oct 2, 2012

Drat. Thank you! - MacFadden, Oct 2, 2012